Rhynchocentrum LADDA GOLD 'PACHARA'S GEM'

[Lars Kurth]

This one just started flowering. It is a reliable bloomer, and should get a few more spikes this season.

[WhiteRabbit]

Wow! that's fabulous! such a great color too!

[Angurek]

I like its warm yellow color.

I'll admit that vandaceous plants are growing on me, even though they're a lot of work to keep.

[RosieC]

Gorgeous looking.

Lars, is it you that grows Vanda's potted, or do you grow them a different way? I'm always interested in how UK growers are growing Vanda Alliance orchids. I have a potted one since March and I'm still unsure if it is happy or not.

[Lars Kurth]

is it you that grows Vanda's potted, or do you grow them a different way?

I grow them in wooden baskets. Depending on the type of Vanda, I fill the basket with epiweb, large chunks of styrofoam and large CHC chips. For some plants the basket is mainly empty with maybe a handful of substrate in it.

Some of the smaller plants I mount on cork, with epiweb and a few CHC chips under the web. Mainly to get extra space in the greenhouse.

I grow some plants in plastic baskets, but I prefer wood as the root stock stays a bit more compact (and thus I have more space in the greenhouse). I use the CHC, as it a) encourages more root growth (in particular when plants are imported), and b) I need to water less.

[RosieC]

Thanks Lars, I know many people grow them loose in baskets but it's interesting that you grow them with media in baskets. Do the roots still go everywhere or are they mostly inside the basket?

I am really tempted to pull mine out the pot, there is a small basket down inside (plastic) which could act as it's support, I could then water it by dunking the roots a couple of times a day.

I know people grow bare root in baskets in this country but I'm not sure how often I would have to water it if I did that. It's outside so I have no problem with drenching it on a regular basis, it's also next to my mounted Milt which gets watered everyday.

Do you have any idea if that would work from your knowledge of Vandas or would I have to water far to often to make it viable?

[trdyl]

Nice one!

[Lars Kurth]

Thanks Lars, I know many people grow them loose in baskets but it's interesting that you grow them with media in baskets. Do the roots still go everywhere or are they mostly inside the basket?

Rosie, the media I use is extremely airy and dries out very quickly. Epiweb is essentially mostly air, but has the advantage that some ambient humidiy condensates on the Epiweb. Large Coconut Husk Chips soak themselves full of moisture, but dry very quickly on the outside. And I use the light styrofoam, which is used as packing material to loosen the mix. The consequence is that I have an extremely airy mix, which dries out quickly enough not to encourage rot. It also encourages feeding roots to develop in some areas of the basket (they are cream-white and devoid of velamen).

The CHC and the wooden baskets, draw many of the roots into the basket. You will still get a mess of roots over time, but many roots do grow back into the basket. So it is a little less messy.

Generally growing Vanda's in pots is a bad idea. But it depends on the Vanda, e.g. Vanda tricolor for example is often grown in pots and does OK, if the mix is open. Vanda roots must dry within a few hours: if they do not, the roots will rot and the plant will eventually die.

Whether you can grow the Vanda outside in a basket depends on the humidity. However there are a few things you can do to increase humidity. You can

• use baskets in a very open mix as I do,
• drape spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) around the roots, or
• when my greenhouse was still fairly empty (a few years back) and got quite dry, I essentially grew the plant in a basket and strapped a several sizes larger clear plastic pot around the basket (a bit like an upside down lampshade). The clear pot would need to be big enough to give the roots space. Add a little bit (1cm or so) of substrate at the bottom to evaporate moisture.

However, what will work depends on the exact conditions though. As you are based in the UK, the big test will be the winter though.

[RosieC]

Thanks again Lars, lots of good info for me to think about. I'm not happy growing it in a pot even though it was sold that way and the nursary said it was a good way to grow them... so I'm going to have to come up with something else.

[rogerman]

Geez i'm just trying to imagine putting an"upside down lampshade under my Vandas....they have 3-4 foot long roots some are even longer